church they are this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk, on pbs in america or around the globe. i'm mike embley. our top stories: serving up a thanksgiving surprise in afghanistan. president trump tells us troops the taliban's pushing for a ceasefire. the taliban wants to make a deal — we'll see if they want to make a deal — it's got to be a real deal but we'll see, but they want to make a deal and they only want to make a deal because you're doing a greatjob. that's the only reason they want to make a deal. the first funerals in vietnam — for some of the 39 people found dead in a refrigerated lorry in the uk last month. a setback in the fight against ebola. four health workers are killed in the democratic republic of congo. anger at australia's bushfire crisis. after 6 deaths and widespread

destruction — calls for the government to take climate change seriously. and millions of americans around the world and in orbit celebrate thanksgiving. president trump has revealed the united states has resumed talks with the taliban — and he claims the afghan group is open to a ceasefire. he was speaking on his first visit to the country since he took office. meeting us troops and the afghan president, he also reaffirmed his intention to reduce the american military presence "substa ntially. " this report from our washington correspondent, chris buckler. donald trump arrived in afghanistan on a trip surrounded by secrecy and a huge amount of security. the white house said the visit

was intended to show support for troops during america's thanksgiving holiday, and he made a point of serving food to soldiers who are thousands of miles away from theirfamilies. but while officials insisted the visit was not connected with peace talks with the taliban, it comes just a week i never got to my turkey because of issues that arose. as the first time i've never had my turkey. but while officials insisted i never got to my turkey because of issues that arose. with peace talks with the taliban, it comes just a week after afghanistan freed three taliban members as part of a prisoner swap for two western academics. and as mr trump met afghanistan's president, ashraf ghani, he confirmed that peace talks had restarted with the group, just a couple of months after they appeared to collapse. the taliban wants to make a deal —

we'll see if they want to make a deal — it's got to be a real deal but we'll see, but they want to make a deal and they only want to make a deal because you're doing a greatjob. that's the only reason they want to make a deal. i've spoken to a lot of you today and they say they are really fighting hard. iwant and they say they are really fighting hard. i want to thank you. this was the us president's second visit to an active conflict zone since taking office. last christmas he flew to iraq and, while mr trump has praised the work of american troops in the middle east, he has made no secret of his desire for them to leave, and his resolve seems to have been hardened by the recent death of islamic state leader, abu bakr al—baghdadi. the leader of isis, the man who is trying to institute isis, because we have 100% of the isis caliphate in this area is now hours.

he is dead, his second is dead, his third we have to say so i think the third does not want the job. maybe i'll go work at a store or something. with this overseas trip, mr trump has again emphasised that the soldiers he was visiting should be going home but, while the president stated that the us would be substantially reducing its presence in afghanistan, he did not give numbers or any sort of timeframe. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. the first funerals have been held in vietnam for some of the 39 people found dead in a refrigerated lorry in south—east england last month. families of 16 victims have held services. the other bodies are expected to be returned to vietnam this weekend. our home affairs correspondent daniel sandford reports. a single drum sounded as two young cousins were laid to rest

in a cemetery in rural vietnam. nguyen van hung was 33, hoang van tiep just 18. they died together in the back of a lorry trailer crossing the english channel to britain. hoang van tiep‘s grieving father says he is now glad his son is home. in all, 39 people died in the trailer. the first 16 bodies were flown back yesterday, and driven out to their villages in vietnam's poorer provinces. the cousins‘ funeral was the first. the priest using it to warn young people of the dangers of leaving their homeland to seek greater wealth overseas. in the village of dien thinh, it was the largest funeral anyone can remember.

for two young cousins, who'd left with high hopes, but died locked in the back of a trailer in a way that nobody wants to imagine. daniel sandford, bbc news. security forces in iraq have killed at least 26 anti—government protesters in the city of nassiriya. dozens were wounded. it's another major spike in the violent unrest that's left at least 350 dead across the country, injust 2 months. it's being fuelled by anger at government corruption and a lack ofjobs. martin patience has the latest. in iraq, the security forces are firing on their own people. the government calls this "restoring order". but here in the southern city of nasiriyah, many protesters paid with their lives.

iraq's younger generation are fighting back. they wantjobs, government services and, despite the dangers, they are putting their bodies on the line. the government is cracking down hard but, two months on, the demonstrators are still on the streets. here in the capital, baghdad, they are choking on teargas. but the rage is being felt across the country. in the southern city of najaf, protesters set the iranian consulate on fire. they blame iran for interfering in iraq's affairs. young protesters want a new iraq, a country that works for them. martin patience, bbc news, beirut. a row has broken out between two key nato allies, france and turkey,

over policy on syria. at a news conference in paris, president macron said turkey's invasion of syria, targeting kurdish fighters, was endangering nato's actions against the extremist group, the so—called islamic state. translation: i respect the security interests of our ally turkey, which has suffered any terrorist attacks on its soil, but one cannot on one and say that we are allies and, with respect to this demand, our solidarity, and on the other put its allies in the face of a military offensive done as fait accompli, which endangers the action of the coalition against islamic state, which nato is part of. the government in ankara has responded angrily to mr macron, accusing france of sponsoring terrorism by hosting representatives of kurdish militia in paris. translation: he is already the sponsor of a terrorist organisation and constantly hosts them at the elysee palace. if he says his ally is a terrorist organisation, we have an answer for this but there is nothing more to say.

and all this ahead of a nato summit in london next week, to mark the 70th anniversary of the alliance. let's get some of the day's other news. the maltese prime minister has been chairing an emergency cabinet meeting, as a police probe into the murder of the investigative journalist daphne caruana galizia threatens his government. the prime minister's chief of staff, keith schembri had been arrested but police say he has been released. the police commander in charge during britain's worst sporting disaster — at the hillsborough football stadium 30 years ago — has been cleared of the charge of manslaughter by gross negligence. 96 liverpool fans were fatally injured. david duckenfield had faced a 7—week retrial because the originaljury failed to reach a verdict, earlier this year. there've been police raids across italy to dismantle what authorities are calling an armed neo—nazi group. police found a range of weapons, and documents praising adolf hitler and the italian fascist leader, benito mussolini. they say the so—called

italian national socialist party of workers had links with extremist groups in britain, portugal and france, among others. the world health organisation is saying it's now lost access to a community badly hit by ebola, in the east of the democratic republic of the congo, because 4 health workers have been killed in an attack on a treatment centre. a police investigation is underway. gareth barlow reports. the drc is gripped by the second worst ebola outbreak on record. thousands of people have died and thousands more have been infected but, once again, health workers trying to halt the virus have been attacked and killed. we are heartbroken that people have died in the line of duty as they worked to save others. the world has lost brave professionals. these constant attacks must stop.

there have been more than 300 attacks on staff trying to tackle ebola since the start of the year, mostly attributed to rebels who do not believe ebola exists and think the medical response is part of a plot to wipe out communities. in the last weeks, there were seven cases of ebola, down from a peak of over 120 per week, in april, 2019. any interruption to the response could lead to a resurgence in the outbreak and more people could die as a consequence. the tragedy in the drc is twofold. a deadly disease ravaging entire families, combined with continued attacks against people trying to tackle ebola. both taking the lives of innocent victims. gareth barlow, bbc news. a climate sit—in is underway in sydney. the theme is ‘bushfire response.‘ because the fires which hit large parts of new south wales and queensland have taken lives and homes, and sent haze into sydney australia's largest city.

the 2 states have never seen wildfires on such a scale, and so early in the season. the bbc‘s phil mercer is there. demonstrations have been held across australia in regional towns and cities, as well as the biggest centres such as sydney. many of the campaigners are making the link between australia's continuing bushfire crisis and global warming. protesters say that climate change is making the fires here more intense. much of the anger is directed towards the australian prime minister, scott morrison. he's being accused of doing too little while the country burns. earlier, we spoke to a young woman from northern new south wales, who lost her home in a bushfire. over ito—metre high wall of flames and fire, spinning ambers, amber attack, balls of fire. it was notjust a bushfire, it was a firestorm. over 80 houses have been lost in my community.

this is climate change, this is a climate crisis. we are feeling the impacts from it right now. we need desperate and drastic climate action. the mood here is one of defiance, it is also a mood of anger, frustration and despair, especially among the young. many teenagers taking the day off school to join the rally in sydney. those feelings best summed up by one of the teenage speakers. the bushfires are definitely linked to climate change. you can just see that, with the prolonged drought that we've had in australia, it has just made the bushfires so much worse and the bushfire season is getting earlier and earlier and it's getting stronger and stronger as well, and it is just something we have not seen before.

so far the bushfire emergency here in new south wales has claimed six lives, almost 700 homes have been destroyed. protesters want australia to phase out the use of fossil fuels. coal continues to generate most of australia's electricity and the country's prime minister scott morrison says his government is meeting its international emission targets. however many protesters say that the prime minister needs to grow up and listen to the science of climate change. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: shame and suicide in south korea. claims the law is failing victims of spy camera crime. president kennedy was shot down and died almost immediately. the murder ofjohn kennedy is a disaster for the whole free world. he caught the imagination of the world, the first of a new generation of leaders. margaret thatcher is resigning as leader of the conservative party and prime minister.

before leaving number 10 to see the queen, she told her cabinet, "it's a funny old world." angela merkel is germany's first woman chancellor, easily securing the majority she needed. attempts to fly a hot—air balloon had to be abandoned after a few minutes, but nobody seemed to mind very much. as one local comic put it, "it's not hot air we need, it's hard cash." cuba has declared nine days of mourning following the death of fidel castro at the age of 90. castro developed close ties with the soviet union in the 1960s. an alliance that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war with the cuban missile crisis. this is bbc world news. the latest headlines: president trump has made an unannounced trip to afghanistan,

telling us troops he believes the taliban are open to ceasefire. the first funerals have been held in vietnam for some of the 39 people found dead in a refrigerated lorry in the uk last month. tackling waste, especially plastics, in our seas is now a priority for most governments around the world. for decades, the black sea was a dumping ground for agricultural and industrial waste. it got so bad scientists considered parts of it almost entirely dead. so, how are things now? in the first of a two—part special report, our correspondent jonah fisher and videojournalist abdujalil abdurasulo travelled the region, looking for answers. this is the dnieper, in ukraine. for decades, large rivers have washed eastern europe's waste into the black sea. we are being shown what is known as blooming.

it happens when excess nutrients, often from fertilisers, cause a rapid growth in algae, starving the water of oxygen. decades of regular blooming has killed off life in large parts of the black sea, creating underwater deserts where only jellyfish thrive. on the black sea's eastern coast, in georgia, we see and smell another of its big problems. so this is the main rubbish dump here in batumi. but the big issue here is that — well, it is only about 300, 400 metres from this rubbish dump to the black sea itself. and there is a waterway which basically leads all the way down there, taking rubbish with it. this is just one of numerous

examples around the black sea of how easily poorly managed waste can get into the water. we have already kind of disturbing evidence that the marine litter, which is the number of floating items per square kilometre, is almost double compared to the mediterranean sea, and it's the worst situation for all european seas. even more alarming is the evidence of how deep the contamination goes. we're on board a research vessel hundreds of kilometres from shore, and this probe is being sent two kilometres down to take samples from the seabed. analysis of the mud has revealed the presence of tiny fragments of plastic, known as microplastics. the scientists also have worrying news about what they're discovering in the water. the biggest threat is coming from pharmaceuticals, especially from antibiotics.

and that is because, if there are antibiotics in the black sea, that means the bacteria is going to develop here that can resist the antibiotics, and mean that ultimately that medicine does not work anymore. yeah, this is now a real problem. people are dying from that. taken together, it is a sobering catalogue of environmental woe, testament to decades of neglect and abuse. but, in the next part of our black sea journey, we look at what is being done to turn things round, and discover that projects thousands of kilometres awayjust might make a difference. wow. jonah fisher, bbc news, in the black sea. and you can catch the next part ofjonah and abdujalil‘s journey on bbc news later on friday. researchers in brazil say smoke from burning forests in the amazon is likely to intensify the melting of glaciers, threatening water supplies

to millions of people. the scientists studied the movement of smoke particles and their effect on andean glaciers. they found evidence that snow and ice is being "darkened", accelerating the rate of melting. fans of the k—pop superstar goo hara are calling for more help for victims of spy camera crimes in south korea. the singer and actress took her own life earlier this week. she'd spent the last year in a public court battle claiming her ex—boyfriend had threatened to release a sex tape of the couple. our correspondent in seoul, laura bicker has this report.

28—year—old eun—ju lee took her own life just weeks afterfinding out a male colleague had secretly filmed her in the nurses‘ changing room. she suffered from frequent nightmares. she felt he was still watching her. translation: you can still kill someone without using weapons. the impact of this crime can differ from person to person. some might be able to pull through. others, like my daughter, might not. eun—ju‘s parents are furious that the culprit was sentenced to ten months in prison. translation: people don't take it seriously. even me, i used to think something like this can be manageable. but, when it became my issue, it felt huge. translation: the sentencing is so weak. tens of thousands of fans of k—pop

superstar goo hara agree with them. the singer and actress took her own life earlier this week. she had spent a year battling a high—profile case, claiming her ex—boyfriend was threatening to release a sex tape. he was given a suspended sentence. her supporters started a petition calling for tougher penalties for all offenders. illicit filming or so—called spy cam crimes are endemic in south korea. most of those found guilty just receive a fine. translation: yes, the sentencing is too lenient. it‘s because there are just too many cases. because it‘s so prevalent, the courts don‘t take it seriously, and also because men do not experience it. so we‘ve come to this motel room to show you just how easy it is to hide a spy camera. it is this, right on top of the television.

this one has been made to look like a shirt button. they come in all shapes and sizes. the footage from this can be uploaded onto your phone in seconds, and within minutes, it is on the internet. campaigners say only tougher sentences will act as a real deterrent, but there is hope that things are changing. this is the hope of eun—ju‘s parents, as they prepare for a battle in court. translation: i'm going to go till the end, all the way to the supreme court. laura bicker, bbc news, seoul. millions of americans have been sitting down for turkey dinner as they celebrate thanksgiving. and us astronauts on the international space station won‘t be missing out. we‘ve got vegetables of course, green beans and potatoes that wield

warm—up. and of course smoked turkey ina warm—up. and of course smoked turkey in a pouch. that‘s the crew on board, showing off, the less than slap—up meal they‘ll be enjoying. we‘ve seen plenty of celebrations already across the states, despite the best efforts of the weather to ruin things. the giant balloons in the annual macy‘s thanksgiving day parade were given the all—clear to fly. we reported earlier this week on the worries that strong winds would ground them. thousands lined the city‘s streets to watch the parade, in its 93rd year. dangerous storms and heavy snow are moving across the states from the west coast to the midwest with about 21 million people in areas affected by the bad weather. the result of these conditions is travel chaos. thanksgiving is a very busy period for airlines and the storms have caused huge delays. away from the weather, and here is an example of how not to deep—fry your thanksgiving turkey. the phoenix fire department have

filmed this video of them placing a frozen turkey directly in a vat of boiling oil. the results — as you can see — are pretty spectacular but dangerous. their top tip is to fully thaw the turkey before deep—frying it. finally, if you happen to be in london and you‘re passing st paul‘s cathedral over the next few days, expect to see this. a projection of the final painting by the soho—born, poet and artist william blake projected onto the cathedral‘s dome. it‘s to celebrate his 262nd birthday today. and you can see it on the dome until the end of the weekend. chances are you‘ve ridden a ferris wheel, but have you ever moved a ferris wheel? austrian athlete franz muellner decided the ferris was a feat worth conquering. he moved munich‘s 80—metre mobile ferris wheel with 27 glass gondalas and a weight of 750 tonnes to set a new world record. he called the task brutal.

as you would. thank you for watching. hello there. yesterday we had much brighter weather push into northern areas of the uk, so through the afternoon in scotland, we had skies like these — a bit of sunshine coming through. that was one of our weather watch pictures from around about the fort william area in the highlands. the sunnier skies were associated with the colder air, and that colder air is pushing southwards. and so it is going to bring a change in our weather, a change to drier weather, with more sunshine to go around, but cold by day and by night, with some sharp overnight frosts just around the corner. indeed, for those of you getting up early on friday, we‘re looking at a cold start to the day. a risk of a few icy stretches as rain clears and temperatures drop away.

showers continue to affect northern and eastern scotland, and some of our eastern coastal counties of england. but across inland areas, particularly for the northern half of the uk, it‘s a cold start to the day, with a touch of frost outside. now, through friday morning, there will be plenty of sunshine for the vast majority of the country. but again, some patchy cloud coming and going across northern scotland, and running down these eastern coastal areas of scotland and england as well, bringing plenty of showers to these coastal areas. inland, though, plenty of sunshine. but through the afternoon, temperatures struggling — just 3—7 degrees celsius, something like that. and then, as we head through friday evening and overnight, we keep those clear skies. could be a few mist and fog patches forming, but it‘s going to be a cold night, with a widespread and sharp frost developing for most areas of the country. well, that takes us into the weekend, and high

pressure‘s still with us for the most part, bringing a continuation of the dry, settled, sunny story. but this low pressure gets close enough to the south—west to threaten a bit of rain into south—west england. certainly there‘ll be more cloud across these south—western areas, and a cold wind will develop as well. elsewhere, a few mist and fog patches to start the day, slow to clear, but for most of us, more in the way of sunshine again. there will be a few showers coming and going for northern areas of scotland. now, through saturday evening, that rain could extend a little bit further eastwards, to threaten dorset, perhaps into the isle of wight for a time, before pulling back southwards as the low pressure moves south into france. high pressure then takes over. could have this little weather front across northern scotland bringing some slightly thicker cloud here on sunday, and a greater number of showers moving in across the far north. a change in the wind direction brings showers into the thames estuary, so it‘ll likely be quite wet at times into the north—east of kent. but, away from these areas, plenty of sunshine again. after a cold and frosty start, temperatures 4—7 degrees celsius, and we keep the cold weather for the first part of the new week. it gets milder towards the end of next week. that‘s your weather.

dorsey ‘s this is bbc news, the headlines: president trump has made an unannounced trip to afghanistan, claiming to american troops at bagram airbase that the taliban wants to agree a ceasefire. it‘s his first visit to the country since he took office. he also met the afghan president, and reaffirmed his intention to reduce the us military presence "substantially." the first funerals have been held in vietnam for some of the 39 people found dead in a refrigerated lorry in south—east england last month. families of 16 victims have held services. the other bodies are expected to be returned to vietnam this weekend. the world health organisation is saying it‘s now lost access to a community badly hit by ebola in the east of the democratic republic of the congo — because 4 four health workers have been killed in an attack on a treatment centre. a police investigation is underway.